The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1887-03-03

only one. lamp for the whole street
little low wooden houses, closed with
shutters; in the street from the time
il grows dark. no one; every one
shut up at home; only q crowd Of
dogs that howl. hundreds, thousands
Of dogs, that howl and bark oil the
night. But then IL used to be sc
warm there! And be got something
10 eat. Here, ah +! bew good il
would be to have. something to- seat
Wbot a noise here, what an nproar
What great light, and what crowd
Of people! What horses aud What
carriages! And the cold, the cold
The bodice OF the tired horses smuke
with fiost aud their burning nostrils
puff white clouds; their shoes ring
on the pavement through the soft
snow. Aod how everybody bustles
everybody else "Ab how I wonld
like to eat g little piece Of some
thing. That is what makes my fin
gers ache So"
A policeman passes by and turus
his head 30 az not to see the child.
"Here is another street OH bow
wido it il! | shall be crushed to
death here, ! know; how they all
shout. how they run, how they roll
along Aud the light, and the
light ! And that, what is thatl Oh!
what big window pane! And be
hind the pane, n room, ard iu the
room q tree that goes mp to the ceil-
ing; it is the Christmas tree. Aud
what lights under the treel Such
papers Of gold aud such apples! Aud
all around dolls and little bobby
horses. There are little children
well dressed, nice, and clean, they
are laughing and playing, eating and
drinking tbiugs. There is little
girl going TO dance with the little
boy. How pretty she is! And
there is music. | can hear it thro'
the glass"
Tho child looks, admires. and ev-
en- laughs. He feels no longer any
pain in bis 6pgers or feet. The fu-
gers Of his baud have become all
red. ho cannot bend them any more
and 1t hurts him TO move them But
all at once, he feels that his fingers
ache; he hegins 10 cry, aud goes
away. lie percsives through anoth-
er window another room, and again
trees and cakes Of all sorts on the
table, red almonds and yellow ones.
Four beautiful ladies are sitting
down, aud when anybody comes he
is given some cake; and the door
opens every minute, and many gen.
tlemen enter. The little fellow
crept f,rward, opaped the door OF a
sudden aud went in. Oil what q
noise they made when they saw him,
what confusion! Immediately a la
dy arose, pnt copeck in his hand,
and opened herself the street door
for him. How heightened he was
III.
The copeck has fallen from his
hands, aud rings on the steps OF the
stairs He was not able to tighten
bis little fingers enough to hold the
coin. The child went out running.
and walked fast, fast. Where was
he going3 He did not know. And
he runs, runs, and blows 10 his
hands. He is troubled. lie feels
so lonely, so frightenedl And sud>
denly, what is that again! A crowd
Of people stand there and admire.
"a window ! behind The pane,
three pretty dolls attired in wee red
and yellow dresses. aud just exactly
as though they were alive! Aud
that little old man sitting down, who
seems to play the fiddle. There are
two others, too, standing up, who
play on tiny violins, keeping time
with their heads to the music They
look at each other and their lips
move. And they really speaki On
Iy they cannot be seen through the
glass"
Aud the ~child first thinks that
they are living, and when he com.
prehends that they are only dolls, be
begins to laugh. Never had be
seen such dolls before, and he didn't
know that there were any like that !
He would like to cry, but those dolls
are just too funnyl
Nv.
Suddenly he feels himself seized by